Interview: Mohammad Saeed Harib

   
1- Can you tell me little bit about your work?  


I work as a the chairman of a company called Lammtara which mainly focuses of delivering animation projects namely the middle east’s highly rated animated series FREEJ which I am also the creator and director of. 



2-The idea of FREEJ was it yours or someone suggested it and you liked it? 

the idea of FREEJ is mine, it came as I was a university student. Our professor asked me to create a super hero character based on my culture. I submitted a sketch of a character that resembled my own grandmother. Hence, Um Saeed was born.
3-Creating FREEJ was it a risk that you took or you where sure that this project will take off?


there is nothing that assured me that this project will take off and be a success but in business you do have to take many serious planning steps and study your business proposal and formulate what we call an educated guess. We knew this project was important for the country but we didn’t know if it will be accepted with audiences.






I would have to say the most hardest thing was getting the authorities to buy into creating a cartoon show. Such a medium is very new to the region and many companies didn’t want to take the risk on supporting something untested and expensive.

5-What was the most difficult thing that faced you while creating FREEJ?

I don’t have to stick to anything traditional. Every project has a thing that makes it unique. What is important that we continue to create unique Arabic content and deliver something special.

6-What are the steps that you took in order to get a copy right?


the first thing I did was contact a lawyer who introduced me to the steps of protecting my idea and properly registering it with economic department who takes care of such things. The rest is a straight forward procedure.


7-You work with a team that you picked?


Yes and that’s because I am the chairman of my company and we always try to pick people who are passionate about animation. Every person is hired for a certain skill he or she has. They follow a certain schedule on what has to be delivered and when. My role is to make sure that everyone is working to his best ability and efficiency.

All groundbreaking projects are hard and challenging but I love doing what I do as I am one of the very few people in this country and the region who specializes in such projects and its always fun to create cartoons for a living.
8- Do you like what you do? Is it hard?

All groundbreaking projects are hard and challenging but I love doing what I do as I am one of the very few people in this country and the region who specializes in such projects and its always fun to create cartoons for a living.

9- Who is the biggest supporter of Mohammad Saeed Harib?

Many people supported me throughout my journey but my biggest supporter has to be my father who believed in me and my talent and never told be to pursue the expected career path of business.



10-Do we expect a new thing from you anytime soon?


I am always working on new things but not all of them are shown on TV. In 2010 I created the opening show for the Dubai International Film Festival and I am currently working on my first cartoon with Cartoon Network.



11-What is the most important part of your work?


Leadership and creativity. Our field keeps updating its tools and we need to be ahead of our competitors by applying the latest technologies to our work. I also need to keep the team’s engine running and performing well throughout work, leading them to deliver a unique product every year.


12-What takes a person to be successful?
It takes great determination, knowledge and passion for a person to be successful. He or she must have the ability to learn from their mistakes quickly and always try to innovate. When successful, that person should not bask in his success but quickly move towards his next target and finding ways to better himself.


13-What would you advice a person with a montage creation talent? would he benefit from it?


Yes he will if he puts it to the right use. Talent is not enough if its not mixed with a good understanding of business. This mix is a recipe for that person to be an entrepreneur; someone that conquers all his obstacles in order to be successful.4-You started with FREEJ something traditional, but if in the future you had to change from traditional to something different in order to move forward with you career, would you do that?